Etymology:
From the district of Middelburg, eastern Transvaal, with the Latin
termination -ensis, place of origin.

Literature:

Illustrations:

Vernacular:

Historical notes:
Described in 1990 by South African botanists
- Robbertse,
Piet Vorster and
-- Van der Westhuizen, who
recognised that the blue-leaved Transvaal cycads previously all included in
E. eugene-maraisii fell into a number of clearly morphologically
distinct and geographically separated populations (see also E
dolomiticus and E. dyerianus). Similar observations were
published more or less simultaneously by Lavranos and Goode (1990),
resulting in creation of the redundant names E. graniticolus and
E. verrucosus. E. hirsutus is another more recently
recognised member of this group.

Distinguishing features:
Distinguished within a group of blue-leaved Transvaal species by the long
straight leaves with straight tips, the entire leaflets, the lower 4-6
pairs of leaflets reducing in size but remaining entire, a clear petiole 35
40 cm long, and green cones with a fine brown tomentum. This group of
Transvaal species is distinguished from the blue-leaved species of the Cape
Province (E. lehmannii and allies) by the almost concolorous leaves
with stomata on both surfaces.